Awaiting the Savior part 1

Are you excited for Christmas? Are you getting into the Christmas spirit? No, I am not talking about Christmas movies (though watch those if you’d like). I am asking if you are wrapping your mind around the great blessing that was Christ coming to earth in the form of a baby, showing us how to live, and ultimately dying in our place to conquer death once and for all.

The coming of Christ was prophesied in the Old Testament and was therefore long-awaited by followers of God. The world was waiting for their Messiah, that is, their Savior. Even today, we still marvel at how Christ fulfilled so many prophecies, even from the moment of His birth.

I am excited for us to look at a number of Messianic prophecies over the next three weeks. I pray it will be one more tool to focus your heart on Christ’s birth during this busy season. How amazing to know that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah who has come to save us from our sin!

Prophecies Regarding Christ’s Lineage

Why is lineage so important? From the very beginning, the Bible tends to follow one son and his son and so on. It’s usually the first-born, the one with the birthright. You may remember the story of Esau and Jacob. Esau, being the oldest by a few seconds, had the birthright but sold it to Jacob (Genesis 25), whose lineage the Bible then follows. God renews His covenant with many of the early forefathers and blesses the leaders down the line as they follow Him. Jesus is in the lineage of all of these significant patriarchs and kings as prophesied from the beginning.

Prophecy: Jesus is from the line of Abraham.

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3

“And through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Genesis 22:18

Fulfillment:

“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Matthew 1:1

“Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” Romans 9:5

Prophecy: Jesus is from the line of Isaac.

“Then God said, 'Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.'” Genesis 17:19

“But God said to [Abraham], 'Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.'” Genesis 21:12

Fulfillment:

“...the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,...” Luke 3:34

Prophecy: Jesus is from the line of Jacob.

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the people of Sheth.” Numbers 24:17

Fulfillment:

“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.” Matthew 1:1-2

Prophecy: Jesus is from the tribe of Judah.

“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” Genesis 49:10

Fulfillment:

“...the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah...” Luke 3:33

“For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.” Hebrews 7:14

Prophecy: Jesus is the heir of King David’s throne.

“When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” 2 Samuel 7:12-13

“Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:7

Fulfillment:

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:32-33

“…the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David…” Romans 1:2-3

Prophecies Regarding Christ’s Birth and Early Childhood

As you see in the first prophecy, the coming of Jesus as our Messiah was God’s plan from the very beginning. Even as He was still declaring the punishment for Adam and Eve’s sin - eternal separation from Him - He pronounced judgment on Satan as well, declaring that He would send a Savior to conquer death and once again unite His followers with Him.

This Savior is the Son of God, born of a virgin to declare God as His true Father. He comes into the world in the least likely of places (a manger in a small/ insignificant town), challenging our thinking and modeling sacrificial living from the time He was born.

I am amazed at the details that God predicted to let us know for certain that Jesus was our long-awaited Savior in whom we should put our trust. He prophesied not only about Christ’s birth but circumstances surrounding His early childhood years as well.

Prophecy: Jesus was born of a woman.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15

Fulfillment:

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.'” Matthew 1:20

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,” Galatians 4:4

Prophecy: Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2

Fulfillment:

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem.” Matthew 2:1

“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born.” Luke 2:4-6

Prophecy: Jesus was born of a virgin.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

Fulfillment:

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means “God with us).” Matthew 1:22-23

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.'” Luke 1:26-31

Prophecy: Jesus lived in Egypt for a season.

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” Hosea 11:1

Fulfillment:

“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up,' he said, 'take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.' So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called my son.'” Matthew 2:13-15

Prophecy: Many children were killed during the time of Jesus’ early years.

“This is what the Lord says: 'A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.'” Jeremiah 31:15

Fulfillment:

“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 'A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.'” Matthew 2:16-18

Come back next week for more Messianic prophecies. Follow me/‘Like’ my FB page to be reminded of the next article in your newsfeed.